Not only did they lose they got walloped

Notre Dame hasn't beenrelevant since this year's group of five-star high school athletes were in elementary school, and few grew up looking at Notre Dame saying, "Wow, one day I want to play for them."At least this saga gave something for us writers to kick around while we're waiting for the bowl announcements and that's something We won't have Charlie Weis to kick around anymore.. If you can't remember the last time George Mason played George Washington in hoops (the universities, not the men) your not alone. It's been years, 11 actually.For most of recent history George Washington felt they had nothing to gain being a mighty Atlantic 10 team playing a lowly CAA team, despite the close proximity.But then something happened.The NCAA banned schools like GW from recruiting players from these high school "diploma mills" that had helped the school produce a winner.Left having to recruit locally against others GW hasn't adapted well and have recently been in the basement of the A-10 conference.Guys like Pops Mensah-Bonsu who starred for the Colonials would not be allowed to play in today's NCAA rules.So now that George Washington is no longer an Atlantic 10 power, their marketing department says George Mason vs GW is a rivalry now and they have the website to prove it! The "Battle of the Orange Line" slogan is good but I really want to know how much the school paid for this whole "Beat George Mason" campaign.And look there's more video!:Very cute. This article is also featured on As a Cowboys fan, I have sat by and watched Tony Romo dominate games. He has completely changed the fortunes of the Cowboys since he has been the starting quarterback. They are winning a lot of games, he is throwing a lot of touchdowns, and the Cowboys have been fairly successful.The one thing we Cowboys fans have not seen in recent years is a playoff win. So, after all that happens, how are the Cowboys not winning playoff games The month of December has been brutal for this team in recent years, and much of the blame has fell on Romo. Let's take a look back at the recent late-season antics of the CowboysWhile some of it is merited, the only game he "blew" in my mind was the Wild Card game against Seattle in the 2006 playoffs. He fumbled the snap. That was his fault. He madde a mistake, and he learned from it.Then you take a look at the 2007 season. They went 13-3, won the NFC East, and got a Divisional round matchup against the hated Giants. Romo played well for much of the game, but threw the interception with the game on the line. This in my eyes was not his fault. If you watched the game, you could see the offensive line cave against the relentless pass rush of the Giants. The O-Line had been so good all year, but couldn't give Romo the time he needed on that pass. The interception was not the result of him going on Vacation the week before, it was because he didn't have time to throw the ball.Then there was last year's debacle against the Eagles. It was a situation where they had to win to get in. Not only did they lose, they got walloped. Romo had a miserable day, but in essence, the whole team folded. They weren't ready for the pressure of that game. So far in the 2009 season, the Cowboys are 8-3, atop the NFC East again, and in prime position for a playofff berth. While I have defended Romo a lot in this article, now I will take my shots. Let's be honest, he hasn't been a very good leader. While his mistakes have been very well publicized, it is his leadership that needs the most work. When you see Romo on the sidelines, generally he doesn't say much. You don't see him charging up and down the sidelines yelling at teammates to get going. He hasn't been the vocal leader that a guy like Philip Rivers is. This needs to change. If the offensive line needs to step up, Romo has to get on them to play better. They cannot afford to have shoddy line play if they want to make a playoff run.If this doesn't happen, and the Cowboys either lose in the first round or miss the playoffs, it may be time to reconsider the QB position. I'll be honest. I am a huge Tony Romo fan. This is not another article ripping him apart and begging Jerry Jones to draft Tim Tebow. Romo is the starting QB. He has been very good as a starter, but for some reason, Decembers have been trouble.It doesn't get any easier this year, with the Giants, Chargers, Saints and Eagles all on the slate. Romo needs to play well this year, and take the Cowboys to the playoffs. When they get there, they can worry about the losing streak or whatever. If Tony Romo grabs a hold of this team, the Cowboys are a very dangerous team..

Turnover swelled to HK$90 billion ($11.6 billion), itsstrongest since September 2008, but Hong Kong sharesunderperformed most regional rivals, which were boosted byhopes for an economic recovery later this year. "Buy on rumours, sell on news; that's what is going on withthe Chinese telecom companies," said Peter Lai, director withDBS Vickers. "There are worries that the 3G networks which call for atremendous investments may put a drag on telecom shares," hesaid. Telecom equipment makers also gave up a part of theirrecent gains with ZTE (0763.HK) down 8.5 percent and ChinaCommunications Construction (0552.HK) falling 7.2 percent. Taiwanese handset maker Foxconn International Holdings(2038.HK), which was 2008's worst performing blue chip, jumped5.4 percent, taking its total gains since the beginning of theyear to more than 50 percent. CITIC Pacific (0267.HK), another stock that was hammereddown in 2008 after revealing a $2 billion hedging loss, climbed6.4 percent. EQUITY SELL-DOWNS WEIGH ON BANKS China Construction Bank (0939.HK) slid 8.8 percent toHK$4.06 while top lender ICBC (1398.HK) gave up 7.3 percent insympathy to fall to HK$3.96.

"Investors are quite bearish about Chinese banks in thefirst half of 2009 with the central bank expected to cutinterest rates further, piling on pressure on earnings," saidPatrick Shum, strategist with Karl Thomson Securities. "And strategic investors will continue to sell their sharesas they need the money," he said. The China Enterprises Index of top locally listed mainlandChinese firms .HSCE slipped 4.6 percent to 8,244.68, weigheddown by losses in banking shares. Shares in Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp(SMIC) (0981.HK) gained 2.9 percent after sources said China'stop contract chip maker was discussing the possibility ofselling a strategic stake to Intel Corp (INTC.O).ID:nSHA25260 Shares in power equipment maker Shanghai Electric Group(2727.HK) slid 13.2 percent after it cut its net profitforecast for 2008 ID:nHKG3556.

The company said late on Tuesday its net profit for 2008may come in 10 percent to 13 percent under its original 2.9billion yuan ($424.2 million) forecast made last November ascustomers deferred delivery of its products ($1HK$7.752)(Editing by Lincoln Feast) China. Homer Bailey was the chosen one. He was brought to the big leagues at the age of 21 with a blazing fastball and the hopes of resurrecting the winning ways that have eluded the Cincinnati Reds for so long.After a mediocre first year and disastrous 2008 season that saw him go 0-6 with a 7.93 earned run average, Reds fans were ready to part ways with Bailey.Perhaps the diminished expectations allowed Bailey to approach the 2009 season more relaxed Perhaps his poor performance was a wake-up call. He no longer relies solely on his fastball to get people out. With his natural ability, becoming more of a "pitcher" will only make him better.The other reason for Bailey's success this past year was a change of attitude that started in the offseason. Along with following a more dedicated workout schedule, he put aside the standoffish and somewhat aloof personality in favor of one that joked with teammates and was happy to talk to the media.In his last nine starts of 2009, Bailey was 6-1 with a 1.70 earned run average.